


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by WeirdWickedWordz



Series: Home Is Where The Heart Is [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Denial of Feelings, Dorian Pavus is a Good Friend, F/M, Lyrium Withdrawal, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Original Character Is not the Inquisitor, Orphan - Freeform, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-01-31 04:09:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12674133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdWickedWordz/pseuds/WeirdWickedWordz
Summary: Emma doesn't know what it feels like to belong, no matter where she lives or works. The community, of her current residence, have affectionately nicknamed her Jack, as in "jack-of-all-trades". They joke that she suffers from a phobia of commitment, due to her inability to commit to one job or home for more than a couple of months. They don't understand that all Emma wants is to find her place in the world; a place where she can be herself without feeling like an outsider.When Emma suddenly finds herself in the world of Thedas, she starts to feel a sense of purpose. Being in Thedas feels more like home than anywhere else she has lived before, but that might be because of a certain Commander of The Inquisition. The problem is that she knows what is to come, and who is the true enemy of The Inquisition. How can she warn them all, without Fen'harel finding out her secret?





	1. A Journey Begins

Emma ambled along the park’s narrow footpath towards her apartment block, using the light of the full moon to guide her. The detour through the park gave her some time to figure out how to tell her best friend and roommate, Claire, the news. Claire had come to the conclusion that Emma was in desperate need of some help in the relationship department; so much so that Emma had found herself forced to go on a blind date with one of Claire’s business colleagues. The date had been a complete disaster and Emma was seriously questioning her best friend’s taste in men. The man had been funny and quite attractive, but as the date progressed he had revealed himself to be a complete brute with abysmal table manners. Emma felt a slight tremor slide down her spine as she remembered how the man had slurped his entire meal. The final straw had been when he had belched, with a grand sense of showmanship, after the last mouthful. He had claimed that it was the proper technique used to show thanks towards the chef’s supreme skill in the kitchen.

Emma scowled down at her outfit, she had spent a small fortune getting the perfect outfit and it had all been for nothing. The delicate lace of her blue dress reeked of her date’s cologne; it had been one of the many reasons for the detour. Thankfully the dress had full length sleeves, allowing her to keep warm while trying to air out her dress in the crisp cool air. An ebony strand of hair fell from her French twist hairstyle causing a growl of frustration to escape her full lips. It seemed the only adornments to have survived the evening unscathed were her pair of nude heels and the pendant necklace she always kept hidden under her clothes. Emma couldn’t help narrowing her eyes with an overwhelming sense of annoyance, before she forcefully began to remove the pins from her hair.  The black strands tumbled across her face, blocking her view of the park for a few seconds.

A warm tingle of electricity travelled up her spine, causing her stomach to clench at the unnatural and unexpected sensation. She stopped walking as she hurriedly shoved her suddenly clammy fingers through her hair.  She blinked her teal eyes several times, trying desperately to make sense of what she was seeing. The moon’s light had faded and everything seemed dark and dreary. Large rocks shaped like knives filled her field of vision; these blades of rock seemed to thrust out of the earth as if to pierce the sky above. She shifted; noticing the dirt and gravel surface beneath her heels, rather than the bricked pathway of the park’s footpath. Emma hesitantly eyed her surroundings looking for anything familiar, as she had never seen this part of the park before. She gasped for breath as her chest became tight and heavy; she slowly spun around desperately searching for the path she had been on.

A scuttling sound caught Emma’s attention, “Who’s there?” Emma squeaked. She squinted into the sinister haze before her; slowly coming to the realisation that the shadows were shifting. Without warning a heart-clenching squeal was released from somewhere inside the murky vapour. Her eyes focused to reveal several creatures crawling out of every crack and crevice as they prowled towards her. It took a few seconds for Emma to recognize that the creatures were monstrous spiders. Her legs started moving of their own accord, propelling her away from the horde of beasts. She was sprinting as fast as her high heels permitted, when a steep staircase made of stone caught her attention. Something urged her to charge towards them and without any hesitation she started taking two steps at a time, hoping that each step was leading her to safety.

Emma noticed a slight feminine figure in green a few steps ahead of her. Emma’s heels clattered loudly on each step causing the blonde-haired stranger ahead of her to turn around in dread. “Run, you must run!” Emma screamed out to the woman. The stranger lifted her head and Emma noticed the woman’s eyes, that were surrounded by strange facial tattoos, expand at the sight of all the spiders clambering up the staircase. The stranger grabbed Emma’s hand and they began to scramble up the staircase together.

The tread of the stone staircase soon became non-existent as the incline grew steeper and more treacherous. The long length of Emma’s dress started to hamper her progress up the sheer slope. She felt her grip begin to falter as she tried to reach the crest, when unexpectedly a hand appeared above her to offer some assistance. Without a moment’s hesitation Emma reached for the outstretched hand, using the help to safely scrambled to the top of the stone mound. Emma noticed that the hand helping her belonged to an older woman adorned with peculiar robes of red, white and gold. Together they turned to assist the young blonde woman, who was still struggling to climb the intense slope. Once all three women were together on the stone mound; the older robed woman began to usher them towards a strange swirling green mist while shouting a warning about demons.

“We need to keep running!”, the young woman shouted before turning and heading towards the green vortex. Emma tried desperately to follow the young woman, but her feet felt like they had been cemented to the floor. When a small cool hand grabbed her; it forced Emma to refocus on the present. The petite fingers of the young woman pulled at Emma, somehow triggering the cement feeling to fade away. They both began to sprint towards the green mist, when a scream sounded from behind them. They turned to see that several spiders had a hold on the older woman. The pair tried to rescue the woman in strange robes, even though she was screaming for them to go. Without warning she was swiftly yanked from their outstretched fingers.

“We need to go!” Emma screamed as she grabbed the blonde woman. They ran towards the green swirling vortex; it seemed to be the only escape route from the spiders. They kept a hold of one another as they hurled themselves through the green mass. The blonde woman collapsed almost immediately after landing back on solid ground. Emma quickly bent down to check the young woman’s vitals; a masculine shout warning her to halt gave her pause. Emma scanned for the owner of the voice, suddenly noticing that she was now surrounded by soldiers holding their swords at the ready.


	2. Dormant In A Dungeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma finds herself in the dungeon beneath Haven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am using the timeline from the Dragon Age: Inquisition as a guideline, because I have inserted an original character there may be some discrepancies or added scenes not found within the game.

The torches’ flickering flames illuminated the dark dungeon, exposing how desolate Emma’s surroundings were. The soldiers had placed their latest captives together into the largest cell within the prison; the cell only contained some piles of dried vegetation, Emma assumed were meant for warmth, and two well-used bedrolls. Muffled voices resonated from the passage ahead of the cell and Emma had found herself trying, on several occasions, to decipher what was being said. The soldiers were clearly still on guard, which meant the possibilities of escaping the metal cage were slim to none. Emma sighed before glancing down at the unconscious form of her blonde companion; the stranger was beautiful with her exotic facial markings and pointed ears. It worried Emma that the young woman had not woken since escaping through the green vortex. She bent down to check the motionless woman’s pulse; the erratic tempo combined with the slight sheen on her companion’s features only increased Emma’s worry.

With very little left to do, Emma settled down onto the unoccupied bedroll and hugged herself for comfort and warmth. The movement caused a flare of pain to travel up her arms, provoking the memory of her imprisonment to emerge. She recalled how the soldiers had escorted them to the largest building in a nearby village. Descending into the dungeon had been her worst nightmare and mentally reliving the scene triggered the pounding rhythm of her heart to intensify. She remembered how the soldiers had placed the comatose woman on one of the cell’s bedrolls with moderate care. Emma, on the other hand, had been hurled into the same cell and had just managed to avoid smashing her face against the stone floor by using her arms as a shield. Emma struggled to draw breath as her chest compressed in panic at the memory of the resounding clank of the cell door slamming shut.

She was brought back to the present when a striking green blaze of light suddenly erupted from the blonde woman’s hand. Emma shrieked in fright and pressed herself against the wall behind her, trying to increase the distance between herself and the intense discharge. “What’s going on?” bellowed one of the guards as he ran towards the cell, “get Seeker Pentaghast now!” he commanded to his colleague. The subordinate ran off to follow the command, leaving the guard alone with the prisoners. The lone guard revealed his unease when he unsheathed his sword, as if to protect himself from the strange phenomenon. “From all the way over there, your sword isn’t going to be of much use.” stated a male prisoner, from behind bars, to the left of Emma’s cell. The guard glanced towards the short masculine prisoner, “Keep your nose out of this Varric.” demanded the guard. Varric just shrugged his shoulders and lifted both his hands up in defeat.

A few moments later the rush of pounding feet echoed off the barren stone walls. A woman with short black hair entered the chamber, followed by a handful of well-armed soldiers. Once the radiant display of magic had subsided, the feminine warrior marched towards the large cell. The warrior cut an imposing figure with her hand gripping the hilt of her sword; Emma assumed that this was Seeker Pentaghast. The Seeker directed a ferocious glare in Emma’s direction; the intensity of the stare compelled Emma to present herself as a small, timid figure. A loud cough distracted the Seeker, “Can I be released now?” asked Varric. The warrior ignored the male prisoner; “What was that?” she asked Emma, while pointing at the unconscious woman. Before Emma could reply, a man appeared at the entrance to the dungeon and cleared his throat; the Seeker spun around and shouted, “What now?”

The bald man, with ears shaped like a knife’s blade, stepped closer towards the cell saying, “The mark on the prisoner’s hand seems to correlate with the rifts that have opened since the breach’s formation.” Tension permeated the atmosphere of the prison, to the point where it was almost overpowering. Emma tried to understand why the terms _rift_ and _breach_ sounded so familiar, but the dots refused to connect within her mind. “I see. Thank you, apostate,” replied the Seeker, “We will discuss this later. Leave us.” The apostate became slightly agitated at being dismissed so easily, replying “If the mark is linked to the rifts, should we not try to keep her alive? She may be the only one to possibly close the rifts. I could tend to her.” Seeker Pentaghast signalled for the soldiers to remove the apostate from the dungeon, saying “I will deal with you shortly, apostate”. Emma watched the soldiers escort the bald man from the prison; as they left she noticed a woman enter the dungeon and slip into the shadows behind the Seeker.

“Why should I keep you alive? Nobody survived the Conclave, except for the two of you.” stated the Seeker, her gaze shifting between Emma and the blonde woman. Emma wasn’t quite sure what the warrior was talking about, “Uh, what is the Conclave?” asked Emma. “Ugh!” the Seeker replied, “The Conclave was where an alliance was going to be discussed between mages and Templars.” Emma tentatively regarded the shadows before replying “I had nothing to do with it.” At that moment the mark on the blonde woman’s hand flared again with intensity. All eyes were drawn to the powerful outburst, until it slowly dissipated. The Seeker sneered at Emma before asking, “What about the mark? It has a great deal of power. It may be what caused the massacre. For all I know, you two are working together to ensure that peace cannot be achieved.” Emma gasped at the implication; her panic rising as her eyes bounced around the chamber, almost as if they were hunting for an escape route.

A feminine voice from the shadows asked, “Why were you two at the Conclave? What do you remember?” Emma searched for the unidentified speaker; only spotting her once the woman left the shadows. Most of the woman’s red hair was hidden under a hood created from a long purple piece of cloth. Emma’s gaze shifted between all the occupants of the room; her brain had finally connected the dots and she now knew, without a doubt, that she was in Haven during the time of the second Inquisition. Seeing Varric, Cassandra, Leliana and the Herald in person was an extraordinary and intimidating experience. Realising she had been quiet for far too long, she hesitantly replied to Leliana’s question, “I’m not quite sure how I ended up at the Conclave.” pointing to the blonde figure Emma continued, “I only met this woman today.” All eyes landed on the prone figure, the strange silence broke when the Seeker uttered, “You could’ve communicated without physically meeting each other.” Emma’s eyes shot daggers in Cassandra’s direction, “I have not seen her or communicated with her in any way shape or form until today.’ snarled Emma. Leliana’s blue eyes scrutinized Emma, “There is something you are not telling us.” she said, as she stepped closer towards Emma’s cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the Kudos for my previous chapter, I really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed my first ever fan-fiction.  
> I am currently working on chapter 2, so I will post it ASAP.


End file.
